"Ruturaj Robbed." - Twitterati react as India leave out young batter in 1st ODI vs Zimbabwe

India left out young batter Ruturaj Gaikwad from their playing XI for the first ODI against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Thursday, August 18.

The visitors picked Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill over Ruturaj in the series opener, with Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda also featuring in the playing XI.

Despite playing nine T20Is, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener is yet to make his ODI debut. He was also picked for the recent three-match ODI series against the West Indies, but didn't get to play a game.

Fans were extremely disappointed to see Ruturaj once again warming the benches despite India traveling with a second-string squad to Zimbabwe. Many claimed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is wasting his talent by not playing him.

Here are some of the reactions:

Indian spikker KL Rahul, meanwhile, opted to field first after winning the toss. Deepak Chahar, who is making a comeback after a long injury haul, provided India with the first breakthrough, dismissing Innocent Kaia for four off 20 balls.

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"If he gets five games in a row, he is going to perform" - Robin Uthappa on teammate Ruturaj Gaikwad

Veteran batter Robin Uthappa has backed Ruturaj to come good in international cricket if he gets a long rope. The 2007 World T20 winner feels Gaikwad could be an all-format player for India in the future.

Speaking at a media interaction organized by Sony, Uthappa said:

"One has to understand that the IPL is one of the best tournaments in the world. But you also have to understand that Ruturaj is someone who has grown into each position. Even when he made his debut in the IPL, it took him a few games before he came into his own."

The wicketkeeper-batter continued:

"Unfortunately with the Indian team he is not getting those number of games because he is a little bit of a feeler as far as a person is concerned. As far as being a person is concerned. He feels his way around things and he's very attuned to his feelings.

"Rutu is someone if he gets five games in a row, he is going to perform and then you will feel like here is a player who can play all three formats for the country and how do we invest in him."

Ruturaj will hope to get some game time in the last two ODIs of the series and present a case for himself.

He has an excellent List A record, amassing 3284 runs, including 11 centuries and 16 fifties, in 64 matches at an average of almost 55.